Calgary Flames have ‘no quit’ mentality as season begins: Backlund

CALGARY – The Calgary Stampeders named receiver Marken Michel as this year’s recipient of the Herm Harrison Memorial Award on Thursday.

The honour, established in 2013, recognizes outstanding community service. Harrison was a tight end with the Stampeders from 1964-72, earning West Division all-star honours six times while being named a league all-star on three occasions.

Harrison remained in Calgary following his career and continued supporting numerous community initiatives. Harrison was inducted into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame in 1993 and the Stampeders retired his No. 76.

Harrison registered 443 career catches for 6,693 yards and 43 touchdowns. He died in November 2013.

Michel, 31, a Florida native in his fifth season with Calgary, is an active participent in many of the CFL club’s community programs. That incluces Every Yard Counts, which features player visits to the Alberta Children’s Hospital the night before each home game.

Michel has also often led groups of teammates into the downtown core to distribute food and water to those in need.

“One of the toughest questions in life is what is my purpose and my assignment in life?” Michel said in a statement. “What you wake up thinking about and what you think about constantly before you go to sleep is a clue as to what your purpose and assignment is in life.

“Your assignment is any problem you were created to solve on the Earth. What you love is a clue to the gift and wisdom you contain to complete your assignment. What you hate is a clue to something you are assigned to correct. What grieves you is a clue to something you are assigned to heal. These are my constant reminders to make a difference.”

Past winners include: Rob Cote (2013), Randy Chevrier (2014), Bo Levi Mitchell (2015-16), Joshua Bell (2017), Rob Maver (2018-19), Kamar Jorden (2021), Colton Hunchak (2022) and Reggie Begelton (2023).

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 10, 2024.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

Roof panels atop the home of the Tampa Bay Rays were ripped to shreds by Hurricane Milton, scattering debris across the field and throughout the seating areas after the deadly storm barreled across Florida.

Team officials said only a handful of essential personnel were inside Tropicana Field, located in St. Petersburg, when the storm hit. Aerial video and images showed the domed building’s roof completely tattered, giving a clear line of sight into the stadium.

No injuries were reported from the arena.

It the latest sports venue severely damaged by weather. Here’s a look at a few others:

Minnesota Vikings’ roof collapse

Heavy snow ripped a hole in the roof of the Metrodome in downtown Minneapolis on Dec. 12, 2010.

At least three sizeable panels collapsed, prompting officials to delay the Vikings’ home game scheduled for the following day against the New York Giants. The game was pushed to Monday and played in Detroit.

The roof was replaced, but the stadium was demolished four years later.

Dallas Cowboys’ practice facility collapse

The Dallas Cowboys’ practice facility collapsed during a wind storm on May 2, 2009, injuring about a dozen players and coaches. Special teams coordinator Joe DeCamillis and 33-year-old scouting assistant Rich Behm received the most severe injuries. DeCamillis needed surgery to stabilize a fractured vertebrae in his neck, and Behm was permanently paralyzed from the waist down after his spine was severed.

Georgia Dome shredded

A severe storm ripped a hole in the roof of the Georgia Dome during the Southeastern Conference Tournament on March 14, 2008. It delayed Mississippi State’s victory over Alabama for more than an hour and postponed a game between Georgia and Kentucky.

With Mississippi State leading with 2:11 left in overtime, a loud blast was heard inside the dome. The girders near the dome’s roof began to swing, and a gaping section was ripped open, dropping debris that included nuts and bolts.

Players and coaches from the Bulldogs and Crimson Tide were sent to the locker room, along with the coaches’ wives and children, and stadium officials began evacuating fans from the upper reaches of the stadium.

SEC officials ended up moving other tournament games to Georgia Tech’s Alexander Memorial Coliseum.

Superdome damaged by Hurricane Katrina

As Hurricane Katrina made landfall in New Orleans on Aug. 25, 2005, the Superdome was being used as a shelter to house roughly 30,000. A few hours into the ordeal, parts of the roof started peeling off amid violent wind. Daylight could be seen from inside the dome as rain poured in.

Within two days, the Superdome had no air conditioning and temperatures had reached the 90s. Significant flooding from broken levees caused the Superdome to slowly start filling with water, though it remained confined to the field level. The Superdome eventually had to be evacuated, with mass relocation to the Astrodome in Houston.

The Saints had to play their entire regular season on the road, splitting games between their temporary headquarters at the Alamodome in San Antonio and LSU’s Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. They even played their first home game at Giants Stadium in New Jersey.

It cost roughly $185 million to fix the Superdome, which reopened for the Saints’ first home game in 2006.

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The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

MONTREAL – Dockworkers at the Port of Montreal have halted all overtime work in a pressure tactic targetting management as contract talks continue.

The overtime strike by the union representing nearly 1,200 longshore workers at the port kicked off as planned at 7 a.m. EDT on Thursday, the Maritime Employers Association confirmed.

The union has said scheduling remains a key stumbling block in the bargaining sessions, which resumed last week alongside federal mediators. Unpredictable shifts as well as reduced use of senior forepersons during operations are the major concerns, according to the union local, affiliated with the Canadian Union of Public Employees.

“We’re ready to negotiate intensively, but since the employer is dragging his feet, we’re putting a little pressure on him to devote his energies to finding a solution,” said union spokesman Michel Murray earlier this week.

The Maritime Employers Association (MEA) struck back, warning that employees assigned to shifts with incomplete crews will not be paid because they slow or halt the flow of freight.

The association, which represents shipping companies and terminal operators, said the freeze on overtime work will have a big impact on operations.

“The MEA believes that the systematic refusal of overtime will have significant repercussions on the port’s activities — even to the point of stopping operations — and, by extension, on businesses, industries and the public,” the group said in a statement Wednesday.

The limited job action comes after a three-day strike last week at two terminals that handle 41 per cent of container traffic at the country’s second-largest port.

Shipping companies may already be looking to mitigate the cost of potential cargo delays and rerouted vessels.

On Tuesday, Danish shipping giant Maersk announced it will slap a surcharge of $2,000 per container on Canada-bound freight from Europe.

Distributors and retail outlets worry they as well as consumers will bear the cost.

“A couple of grand on a box that’s only $4,000 or $6,000 is a pretty hefty premium,” said John Corey, president of the Freight Management Association of Canada, whose members include port authorities, manufacturers and other large shippers such as retailers Canadian Tire and Home Depot.

As companies seek other routes to market, fewer containers may be available to Canadian shippers, resulting in potential supply chain snarls and price hikes.

“Boats are going to be rerouted either to Vancouver or Halifax. It then causes crowding there,” said Lisa McEwan, co-owner of Hemisphere Freight, a customs brokerage firm.

Backlogs and labour disruptions tend to cause vendors and carriers to think twice about shipping as much cargo, she noted.

“They don’t send as many containers over because it’s going to take time for them to get those containers back,” said McEwan.

“If there’s less availability, then prices increase for shipping. That trickles down to the consumer and the importers and the shippers as well.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 10, 2024.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.